Japan's imports of polished diamonds drop 24% to $53.6 million in February

Imports to Japan of polished goods dropped 24 percent on a year earlier to $53.6 million in February, according Finance Ministry data.

Japan imported more diamonds in carat terms, up 10 percent ‎to 149,219 carats, but the average price dropped 31 percent to $359 per ‎carat.

Japan's polished diamond imports declined by 10 percent to $127.8 million in January-February.

Polished Imports originating in India fell 8 percent on the year to $27.8 million, from Israel dropped 15 percent to $6 million, from Belgium down 39 percent to $7.6 million, and from Hong Kong saw a slump of 64 percent to $2.6 million. However, imports from the United States jumped 14 percent to $1.9 million.